Katavi consists of a series of secret flood plains that open up in front of you as you arrive through their woodland fringes. Lake Katavi and Lake Chada boast one of the largest phopulation of Hippopotamii and crocodiles and the flood plains provide a habitat for an abundance of waterfowl. Its vast size, infinite grassland plains, isolation and inaccessibility have meant that herd sizes are huge and it is not unknown to see up to 1600 buffalo at once! Lion, and other predators, wait along the fringed woodland to ambush the game as it returns to the woodland for shelter at sundown. There’s nowhere else like it!

Folklore tells of the great hunter-god, Katabi, whose spirit lives on in a tamarind tree. To seek his blessing and invite success, Mpimbwe hunters would place a small offering at the base of its wizened trunk. There is no hunting in Katavi anymore and you don’t need to appease the spirit world in order to see the game, it is here in abundance.

Katavi National Park in Tanzania is for the connoisseur of Africa travellers who likes to visit the most remote places, away from the crowds.